Just like the saying "How long is a piece of string" nobody can say with any degree of certainty how many calls it will take to any individual or organisation in order to make a calling campaign successful. 

We all have to start somewhere. The good news and the bad news is this: The greater the number of calls you make, the more effectively you separate yourself from the crowd. The "crowd" in this case will be anyone and everyone that has given up on ever speaking to someone after one, two or three calls.

A word of warning though: You'll still have some competition. Your plan of action has to involve a way to add value on every single call or touch point (including email here). This can vary greatly and the value others perceive from you will be different for each person. It could be sharing a piece of news that's highly relevant to that person's business and future. Alternatively, it could be sharing details of an event they may be thinking of attending (or you've seen them on the list of attendees and want to use the event as a meeting point). It can be sharing a case study in their industry sector, inviting them to a product launch or giving them the opportunity to road test something new or something you've developed that's not yet on the market.

You get the idea? Feel free to think of some novel and innovative suggestions of your own.

One person that sells to investment banks actually called on a handful of organisations more than one hundred times each before getting that sought-after appointment. Think how persistent AND innovative that requires him to be! 

Ultimately, only you will know how many calls it makes sense for you to make, depending on the nature of competition in your marketplace, your available resource for making calls in the first place and your ability and willingness to be innovative in your approach. One thing's for sure: You'll have more fun coming up with new ways to engage people and that will make the calling experience more fun too.  

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photo credit: C. G. P. Grey